conscious that as he has said this is not an occasion for long speeches, and therefore i will emulate king henry viii, who is reputed to have said to each of his six wives, of enclosed please do not worry -- i do not intend to keep you long." the right honorable gentleman was elected by secret ballot last year in june, and i have to make a revelation. on that occasion i did not vote for him. i've voted for my right honorable friend the leader of the house, whom i congratulate on the position that he occupies today. but the fact that i did not vote for him is in the sense an opportunity, because i have had the opportunity with an open mind to see the right honorable gentleman act as speaker over the past 11 months, and i have been impressed. i first entered this house in 1974 when selwyn lloyd was the speaker, and i have seen six speakers and eration. they all had very great strengths, and most of them had personal characteristics as well. [laughter] i'd just wanted the time available to draw attention very briefly to three aspects that i think the house should consider in deciding whether they're rig